


For The Gold Of The Crown

by AdHominem



Series: The Gold of the Crown and the Corruption of Power [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Clay | Dream Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Dream Team SMP Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Dream's In Prison, Gen, He cares about nothing? Not on my watch!, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, and the dude gets sad, i mean i tried writing angst hopefully it worked, i'm sleep deprived and have had this stuck in my head for days, no beta we die like men, very light swearing though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29012265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdHominem/pseuds/AdHominem
Summary: He didn't care for anything. He didn't give a fuck about anything.That's what he said to them.Not caring was difficult, when he felt those sad eyes bore into him.Or, Dream is in prison and maybe is having some hallucinations.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: The Gold of the Crown and the Corruption of Power [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128350
Comments: 4
Kudos: 117





	For The Gold Of The Crown

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing here, so please be kind. English is not my first language, so any errors are probably the work of that. Feedback is appreciated!

The walls were black and cold, even though right behind them was the incredibly hot lava. Water somehow got to the ceiling and was now falling back down in drops. Little silver tears of the obsidian.

189.

190.

191.

Dream sits alone in his cell, eyes tired, mask pristine. His fingers are tapping on the cold ground beneath him and he ignores the slight pain that comes from the scraped off tips. His face is unmoving, much like the white mask, but this time, it seems the porcelain is more alive than him.

203.

204.

205.

Dream didn't cry. He felt his chest clench, his heart scream and his mind numbing itself to it.  
He was going to spend eternity here, why bother with that?  
He frankly didn't give a damn about being locked here. He was safe from the Egg. Was safe from all who would try to kill him. He didn't care about anything.

214.

215.

216.

Dream was alone in his cell, only the light bubbling of lava, dripping water and silent footsteps being his company. Yet, out of the corner of his eye, he could see someone looking at him.

220.

221.

222.

He _didn't_ care for anything. He _didn't give a fuck_ about anything.  
That's what he said to them.  
He screamed it at Tommy and his crew.  
He didn't care about Spirit, about the SMP, about nothing and no one.  
But not caring was getting difficult, when he felt those sad eyes bore into him.

237.

238.

239.

Across the room, on his bed sat someone he _didn't_ care about.  
He was hidden underneath his bright blue cloak with red trim - one that Dream picked for him. On his head sat a pair of goggles, white with black glass in them. A bit of ash could be seen on the edges.  
He had a sad, melancholic gaze that felt sharp and seering hot. Not even the dark brown strands of hair could silence it. He was completely silent.  
So was Dream, because he didn't care and because he couldn't bear to look into those dark brown eyes seemingly still filled with sparks from the fire. The Fire. Capital F.

243.

244.

245.

Maybe minutes, maybe hours later the illusion disappeared. Dream was left alone with his water, lava and real footsteps.

356.

357.

358.

There's a new one. Another person he _didn't_ care about. This one had eyes, that probably set things on fire. He had a black shirt and white waistcoat with special copper embroidery, which Dream didn't spend hours upon hours doing. His cloak was black, hung from one shoulder rather than two and was significantly shorter - almost as if meant to be used in a fight.  
This one's face was visibly sad. Almost like the person had heard the words "don't care" and felt useless. His dark grey eyes glistened with tears that will never spill.  
And Dream didn't feel guilty because he didn't care. Dream couldn't look at him because he was tired, not because it was too much just like the one before.

364.

365.

366.

This one opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. He instead knocked on the wall. No sound came from him, but from the way Dream's back straightened, it was obvious the real one out of the two noticed it.

371.

372.

373.

He took off his bandana and tied it around his wrist. Right wrist. Dream watched the silver drops fall with even more curiosity. The illusion tightened it and sighed.

389.

390.

391.

Dream almost looked. He almost turned his eyes towards the man on his bed tapping on the cell wall. to stop himself, he closed his eyes and counted the water by sound.

473.

474.

475.

The previous hallucination was gone. Dream didn't know fro how long, but he sure did know there was a new one on his bed. He wasn't the worst, but he was the most recent wound. _Luckily, Dream didn't give a damn_.

480.

481.

482.

He had light blonde hair in a neat ponytail. His eyes were the strange kind of blue, the one of the gray pigeons. The look he was giving Dream was determined and fierce - once traits admired by Dream. This hallucination was dressed in light greys, white and golden. Dream didn't help with the construction of the cape with cutouts for arms. He didn't make about five mock ups to determine the best pattern for mobility and drama.496.497.498.This one is humming. His fingers are gliding over the rough black walls, not geting scraped like Dream's. He's singing to himself. It's the type, that you only hear when a friend isn't bored but quite glad they're near you and don't want to talk.  
Dream almost hummed with him.

513.

514.

515.

He took a breath and at that moment a sharp and angry glare was shot through him. Dream clutched his own clok in his fist. Determined and fierce, he reminded himself. _Painful and angry_ , responded a small voice in his head.  
Dream shook his head.

521.

522.

523.

The humming was now echoing between the walls. The footsteps stopped. Was it real? Was he- Did- How did he-  
Dream turned his head.

527.

His eyes widened.

528.

The bed was empty.

529.

Dream put a hand over his mouth to stop humming.  
He wasn't doing that before, he was sure of it.

* * *

656.

657.

658.

Dream's eyes don't leave the bed. The regrets he doesn't care about at all won't get him now.

663.

664.

665.

"You don't seem very happy."

667.

Dream didn't want to turn his head. He didn't want to look, who was siting next to him. Because he already knew.

668.

"I'm just saying," continued Eret, the crown ever so slightly tilted.  
"No laughter, no plans to escape... I expected more."  
"Escape from here?"  
"At least put up a fight."  
Dream looked to the ground.  
"It's pointless."  
"Sometimes you fight a pointless fight just to say you did."  
"Who did you steal that from?"  
Eret shrugged.  
"It's not important now."  
"To you it's not, you're not real."  
"I'm as real as your power here."  
"Like I said," Dream hissed, "not real."  
"So are you talking to yourself then?"  
"Maybe!"  
"That's pathetic."  
"You would know. You're the king with no power just a crown."  
Eret smirked.  
"Do you know chess, Dream?"  
Dream turned to him, bewildered.  
"What's even that question, of course I do!"  
"Then tell me, the king is far from the most powerful but he's the most important. The SMP exists without you there to tell me what to do. Without you telling me to sit on my throne and look pretty."  
"It won't stay that way for long."  
Eret merely blinked.  
"The heroes always win."  
"So we are the heroes then?"  
Eret smiled.  
"You're tired. Go to sleep, Dream."  
"Answer me," Dream insists, but he can feel himself getting tired. His eyes close before he can hear Eret's answer.

* * *

Dream had given up on counting the drops of water.  
"How much was I worth really?"  
"I don't know."  
"Liar," Punz spat out. Dream didn't bend.  
"You brought this onto yourself, Dream. If you payed me-"  
"I could never pay you enough, Punz. Even if I had all the riches of this world it wouldn't be enough."  
"That's pathetic."  
"Of course it is. But I mean it."  
"That's even worse."  
Punz is visibly holding back laughter.  
"All that for me to not betray you?" he manages to choke out.  
"No."  
The white cloak moves forward, Punz moves with it.  
"What are you saying."  
"You're my _friend_."  
"I was."  
"You _were_ my friend," Dream corrected himself, hoping his tears weren't noticable in his voice.  
"And the best fighter I've ever met, one of them at the very least."  
"You think that will make it better? We don't just destroy history, Dream."  
"I'm not making amends with the real Punz. I'm making them with myself."  
"Oh," Punz mocks, "are we feeling _guilty_? Maybe like we actually _care_?" He begins to laugh.  
 _"I don't care_ , Punz. _I don't give a damn_ about anything and anyone."  
The other man looks at him smirking.  
"I always know when you lie, Dream."  
The real one tightly closes his eyes and curses under his breath. When he looks around the cell again, Punz is gone.

* * *

"But you do care about me, right?"  
Dream was stretching in the middle of his cell when he heard it. He almost jumped, but then turned around to look Sapnap in his eyes. The boy looked to be on the verge of tears.  
"I-"  
"You said you didn't. Who did you lie to actually?"  
"Sapnap, let-"  
"Would you lie to me?"  
"No," Dream finally answered. Sapnap didn't seem to believe him.  
"You had Beckerson."  
"It was to keep him safe."  
"That is not the truth."  
Dream opened his mouth and then closed it again, when the words didn't come out.  
"You just didn't want me on a payroll like Punz. You used our friendship!"  
"I just wanted for us to go back to the old days! When we just messed around!"  
"And you did that by taking Beckerson?"  
"No one had leverage over you but me, Sapnap, it was the best choice."  
"Oh I get it," Sapnap bitterly smiles, "exploiting your best friend's is the best choice for all conflicts and for gaining power. How could I forget?"  
"Sapnap, you have to trust me."  
"I don't think I can anymore, Dream."  
"Could never hurt you."  
"Yet you did. Battle of the lake. You fought for Tommy, not for me."  
"I didn't kill you. Techno was after you."  
"You always excuse yourself but never apologize."  
"Sapnap, I'm-"  
"-Sorry? What does it mean to me? I'm not real! go apologize to the real one! The one you actually hurt, Dream!"  
Dream flinched under waves of Sapnap's screams.  
"Sorry," he whispered, head hung low, eyes fixated on the ground.  
"I'm sorry."  
The water was still falling from the ceiling.  
"Sorry. _Sorry. Sorry."_  
He repeated it until he lost his voice. Then sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.

* * *

That left the worst for the last.  
"Hi, George," Dream greeted first, the name rolling off his tongue in a strangely friendly manner.  
"Hey," the brunette responded in a clipped tone.  
"How-"  
"Why did you dethrone me?"  
Dream sighed.  
"You were attacked a day after you became the king, George."  
"So I was too weak."  
"Not at all."  
"I was too not-present? Didn't look pretty enough on the throne? Wasn't smart enough? Diplomatic enough? Not good enough for you?"  
"I didn't say any of that," Dream rebutts in a weak tone. He can't, there's been too much happenning in one day. He hopes it's been one daym he has yet to check the clock.  
"I wanted you to stay safe."  
"But you don't care."  
"I- I do."  
"So, you lied."  
Dream didn't say anything, he knew George already read it from his eyes.  
"For power. You're disgusting."  
George shoots him a venomous glare.  
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely."  
"The same thing could've happened to you."  
"Oh!" George let out a scoff, "of course! Such a heroic sacrifice! Everybody round of applause for Dream - the perfect hero we all needed!"  
"George, _please_. You _know_ it's true."  
"Everybody be merry, for Dream sees the future. He can tell how I will feel and whether I will be safe or not."  
"Did anyone kill you since then? No. I was right."  
George caressed his string with two bright blue stones still intact.  
"You're just lucky."  
"Then why am I here?"  
"Because you were betrayed."  
The two stared into each other's eyes, one with anger, the other hurt.  
"Just like me, when you dethroned me, like Sapnap, when you lied to him about caring and when you took Beckerson, just like Punz, when you payed him like an employee and just like Eret, when you forbid him from standing up for what he believed in."  
"Kings should stay neutral."  
"Right. You'd rather excuse yourself rather than actually say sorry."  
"Will sorry fix anything?"  
"No."  
"Then why should I say it in the first place?"  
"Because then you can say you did."

* * *

"Who do you miss the _most_?" Tommy insists on the question. Dream's eyes involuntarily travel to the wall behind the boy. Right there, in front of the lava are four men standing. All shining in the dark netherite armor. Dream can feel tears welling up in his eyes.  
"Guard!"  
All men in the cell watch him, the real one and the hallucinations.  
"Guard!" he shouts for the warden to let Tommy out. Sam takes a while to respond.Dream watches as Tommy gets across the lava from Pandora's box. As Tommy goes from the ironically safest place in the world back to the dangerous outside world. He knows that there are four men behind him watching him. His eyes are still locked on Sam's, not pleading, just waiting for the next day. Where the outside would have to deal with betraxals and assassinations and the Eggpire.

The last thing, that Pandora left in her box was, after all, hope.


End file.
